Holidays

Back in August we did a giveaway for 4 complimentary tickets to the Kiddie Cruise and it was so popular, we are doing it again but this time two lucky Mommy Poppinistas will win 4 tickets to the Halloween Kiddie Cruise.

Setting sail on Oct. 26 at noon, the Halloween Kiddie Cruise will take you on a ghoulishly fun two hour tour of the Hudson. The cruise ship is a 3 level Louisiana-Style paddle-wheel boat that is packed full of Halloween kiddie entertainment. Recommended for kids ages 2 to 8, you can expect face painting, balloon sculpting, arts and crafts, magic shows, performances, story telling, live music, raffles and yummy food for kids and adults.

Keep reading for details on how to enter... Read more »

Fall has arrived and it's time to get yourself some pumpkins! Check out our posts on the best pumpkin picking and apple picking in the area if you want to head out of town. Or, you can stock up on pumpkins and fall fun right here in NYC with the top picks of this weekend's local pumpkin events. Plus, did you know that there are lots of free kids cooking classes available this weekend? Keep reading for the full scoop... Read more »

I am terrible at planning in advance for Halloween.   Alright, I admit it, I'm terrible at planning in advance for everything, but in some very rare cases this can be a good thing. Halloween, is all about getting creative. Sometimes being a slacker-mom on Halloween forces you and your kids to be more creative and have more fun since you are left with putting together a costume that you can make with what you already have or what is easy to get.

Keep reading to find out some great toddler and kid Halloween costume ideas that almost entirely use stuff you either already have or can find in a stationary store.  Plus, the best last minute costume ideas on the interweb. Read more »

Halloween is going commercial. It seems like every place I go and everyone I know is offering a Halloween version of what they do. The museums, the parks, the playspaces: everyone is doing Halloween events right now. With more options than ever before, I set out to find some of the coolest and most unique Halloween activities on Long Island that would be worth a trip from the city or beyond. Some of these sell out so order your tickets soon: Read more »

Halloween can be one of the most magical times of year for New York City kids; you just have to know what to do. It's one of the few times where the city turns itself over to the children and everyone goes out of their way to make sure they have a great time. Here's what you need to know to have the best Halloween in New York—from the best children's parades, the best places to Trick or Treat, and more ghastly goodness. And more to come. Like always, we'll keep adding more great posts as we write them. So check back in. Or subscribe to our free emails.

Enter our Halloween Photo Contest. Snap a shot of your little one in their Halloween Costume and send it in. Lots of winners, loads of prizes. Find out more on our Halloween Photo Contest Page.

For some winning Halloween costume ideas for children take a look at our Homemade Kids Costume Ideas post. And for Halloween costume ideas for babies, check out the RookieMoms Halloween Costumes for Babies Guide.

Halloween Fun for NYC Kids

Best Places to Trick or Treat with Kids in NYC

Trick or treating in your building is great for adults because it feels so safe, but it is nowhere near as exciting and magical for kids as getting to run around the neighborhood at night and go door to door. We've rounded up the best places for trick or treating in New York for kids.

5 Magical Family Halloween Events
Five events that each take a different spin on celebrating the holiday, aren't too commercialized, and bring that Halloween magic that will give you and your family great Halloween memories.

10 Halloween Parades for NYC Kids
Everyone should probably take their kids to the Village Halloween Parade once, but I'm not a big crowds person so I pretty much steer clear. Here are ten neighborhood parades that kids can march in or just watch and get a taste of the real thing in kid-sized portions.

Best (not too scary) Haunted Houses on Long Island for Kids
There is one activity that is synanomous with Halloween: a trip to a Haunted House, and it can be hard to find a haunted house that isn’t scary. We set out to find some of the best Haunted Houses on Long Island, keeping everyone in the family in mind.

Best Halloween Children's Books and Spooky Stories

Reading some great Halloween stories is a fun way to extend the fun and excitement of Halloween. I've collected my all-time favorite Halloween books, a bunch of classics and a couple of brand-new classics. All sure to either make Halloween even spookier or a little less so.

3 Cool Halloween Events on Long Island
The museums, the parks, the playspaces: everyone is doing Halloween events right now. With more options than ever before, I set out to find some of the coolest and most unique Halloween activities on Long Island that would be worth a trip from the city or beyond. 

Halloween Links Cool craft projects, spooky treats and more NYC Halloween fun.

More Fall Fun

Apple Picking Where to go apple picking plus some apple festivals right here in the city. Also check out our recommendations for where to go Apple Picking with Toddlers.

Pumpkin Picking and Fall Festivals in Long Island
A list of some of the best pumpkin picking and Fall farms on Long Island with soe special reasons that it will be worth a trip.

Visit the farms of Westchester
Did you know that there are also farms in Westchester that you can visit with kids? Here are the spots that are under an hour of New York City, where your kids could be gamboling with sheep, rounding up chickens, and milking cows. Read more »

When it comes to Halloween, there are two kinds of people: you either enjoy scary things, or you don’t. Halloween offers plenty of kid friendly activities having nothing to do with being scared, like trick or treating and pumpkin picking. There is, though, one activity that is synanomous with Halloween: a trip to a Haunted House, and it can be hard to find a haunted house that isn’t scary. One tip we’ve learned is to check the schedules at your favorite Haunted Venue because many offer special showings or tours for the younger kids. With that in mind, we set out to find some of the best Haunted Houses on Long Island, keeping everyone in the family in mind.

Bayville Scream Park, 8 Bayville Avenue, Bayville: They don’t call it a scream park for nothing. This place is more than a Haunted House; Bayville is a Halloween theme park complete with 5 haunted venues, adventure park attractions and miniature golf. Voted Long Island’s #1 Scariest Haunted House, Bayville also offers Kids “not so scary days” on weekends when they clear out the monsters and ghouls from the Haunted Houses and tone down the fright factor.

Queens County Farm Museum , 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park: If you want to keep the scare factor rated “G,” then this is the place for you. With a Haunted house designed for kids ages 4-12, The Queens County Farm also offers a Children’s Fall Festival complete with country music and dancing, farm field games like potatoe sack races and hay rides. Mark your calendars: The Haunted House and Children’s Festival runs one weekend only, October 25 and 26.

Sagitos Manor Annual Fall Festival, Montauk Highway at Manor Lane, West Bay Shore: Tour the famous Sagitos Manor from a ghost’s perspective. The Sagitos Manor has one of the only Haunted Houses known to be both toddler and senior friendly (so you know this isn’t too scary!). Psssst: The real reason you should visit this festival is to hear Jonathan Kruk (famous for his performances at Sleepy Hollow and the NY Historical Society) tell stories about Sagitos Manor and Halloween. This event is donation only and only on October 18!

Wicks Farm and Garden, 445 North Country Road (Rt 25A) St. James: Designed with younger children in mind, Wicks offers a Haunted House that offers eye-catching goblins, witches, and turkeys (yeah, turkeys). All day long, you’ll find the Haunted House at Wicks filled with minimized scare factors and the real bonus is because it is usually not too crowded, you can control the level of fright by simply telling a crew member to tone it down. Plus, Wicks has pumpkins, a feeding farm, pony rides and a bounce house to keep your little ones entertained all day long.

Read more »

We've got a family portrait session with amazing photographer Jeff Cassuto, a Jeep Overland Limited Jogging Stroller and a Baby Gift Package from Giggle, plus more and we want to give them to you.

Share your pictures and win! Click to read more, or upload your photos here.

The Guide
The best Halloween Parades for kids, the top places to Trick or Treat in NYC, (not too scary) Haunted Houses, and more. Find it all out in our Halloween Fun Guide.

Read more »

Share pictures of your adorable little ghosts, ghouls, and Mileys and win!

Enter!
We love seeing all the great costumes people come up with for the little ones on Halloween. Whether your child's costume is super creative or just super cute, share it with us in our Halloween Photo Contest Flickr Group. You can add your Flickr photos to the Mommy Poppins Halloween Photo Contest Group or just email them to us with your name, address, age of child(ren) and we'll do the techie stuff.

Win!
On Monday, November 5th we will pick three winners and three runners up to receive one of the following fabulous prizes: Read more »

Reader, Brigette, who won our Mother and Child Portrait Session Giveaway and got all spoiled wants us to equally hook her up for Father's Day.

Brigette says:

I need help coming up with ideas of what to do with my kids for my husband on Father's Day. I can come up with gift ideas, but seem to have lost all creative ability to come up with something to do with/for dad that day.

Since I don't know what kind of Baby Daddy Brigette rolls with I figured I'd cover all the bases. Here's our suggestions for Father's Day activities for dads of every stripe. A bunch of these activities are this weekend, in case you actually just want to let dad chill on the day of, as many of our commenters suggested.

Father's Day Activities for NYC Dads of Every Stripe:Read more »

I know when we've hit upon a good vacation spot when my husband starts to question why we live in NYC. It only took a few hours in New Orleans for him to start with the following line of questioning - Why do we live in NYC again? Do you realize what kind of house we could live in here if we sold our 5th floor walk-up? Usually I rebuff all this with reminders of how NYC is the only cool place in the country. But New Orleans left me with little response, I have to admit, it's got more culture and soul than even my beloved NYC.

While I don't think we are moving any time soon, we do want to go back for Mardi Gras which our friends have convinced us is a great event for kids. Though you need to know what to avoid, ie the boob flashing streets of the French Quarter and where to hang with kids, they suggest St. Charles Ave where families set up in one spot and watch the procession pass. And of course, the accumulation of beads is enough to entertain most kids for a long time.

But, N.O. is an amazing place to visit any time of year Read more »